The present invention relates generally to a lacrosse stick construction and is more particularly concerned with a novel lacrosse stick construction whereby improved playability and other functional benefits are realized.
The game of lacrosse is generally considered as the oldest team contact sport of North American origin. Historical evidence suggests that the game of lacrosse was played by various Indian tribes, such as the Iroguois and Hurons, as early in time as the 15th century. It is generally accepted that the original purpose of the sport of lacrosse was to physically and/or psychologically condition Indian warriors preparatory to actual combat or, in some instances, to itself function as a game forum for the settlement of tribal differences. While the equipment utilized in the sport of lacrosse has, of course, evolved substantially over the years, one all-important piece of equipment whose basic constructional characteristics have remained constant is the lacrosse stick or "crosse". In this, the lacrosse stick over the years since the inception of the sport has comprised an elongate stick having a butt end and a forward end and, coaxially and integral with or fixedly attached to the forward end of said stick, a head frame comprising at least one side wall element extending forwardly of the forward end of the stick and in a laterally divergent manner from the center line thereof and a nose element extending transversely across the forward end(s) of said side wall element(s), said nose element traversing the forwardly extended center line of said stick. The upper rim of said head frame defines an open mouth wherethrough the lacrosse ball is received into and shot, passed or checked from the lacrosse stick. In plan view the head frame defines a generally isosceles triangular area extending coaxially and forwardly of the forward end of the stick. Said triangular area is broadly divisible into two functional portions: a rear or throat portion adjacent the juncture of the side wall(s) with the forward end of the stick and, forwardly of said throat portion, a receiving/shooting portion extending forwardly to the transverse nose element. Generally, the rear portion of the head frame is also arcuately formed, the radius of curvature of said rear portion being selected such that it defines an accomodating surface against which the lacrosse ball usually rests while retained in the throat portion of the head frame. Suspended from the lower rim of the head frame is a netting defining a bottom closure of the frame. That portion of the netting suspended from the forward zone of the head frame defines a ball reception and shooting zone into which the lacrosse ball is initially received and entrapped by the player and from which the ball is ultimately passed or shot. The rearward portion of the netting, in other words, that portion thereof suspended from the throat of the head frame and which usually includes a pocket, defines a zone within which the lacrosse ball resides during the player's retention thereof in the lacross stick.
With the decreasing availability of high grade ash or hickory wood, decreasing availability of the woodworking skills necessary to form and fabricate lacrosse sticks having integral one-piece wooden stick/head frame constructions and in further view of the labor intensive nature of the fabrication of such integral one-piece wooden stick/head frame constructions it has become commonplace to fabricate lacrosse sticks using a straight stick element formed of straight grained wood or wood laminate or a tough, lightweight metallic or reinforced plastic tubular element such as in the nature of a thin gauge metallic extrusion or a fiber reinforced composite plastic material and to affix to the forward end of the stick a separate, bilaterally symmetrical head frame composed of a tough synthetic thermoplastic material, such as a high impact strength nylon material prepared and/or sold under the trademark, ZYTEL, by DuPont de Nemours & Company, Inc., Wilmington, Del. In such modern versions of a lacrosse stick the head frame comprises a rearwardly oriented coaxial socket element to receive the forward end of the stick therein, a pair of laterally divergent side wall elements extending forwardly of said socket element and a transversely oriented nose element bridging the forward ends of said pair of side wall elements. The apex of the angle defined between said divergently oriented side wall members is truncated by means of a rearwardly directed arcuate wall element bridging said side wall members and defining a ball stop. The transverse nose element is, desirably, canted forwardly at an upwardly positive angle so as to define a scoop-shaped lip member which facilitates the player's ability to receive a ground-borne lacrosse ball thereover.
During the course of play the lacrosse ball may be received into the lacrosse stick in one or the other of the following manners: (a) a ground-borne ball may be received over the upper rim of the head frame, particularly the forward edge of the nose element, or (b) an air-borne lacrosse ball, whether by pass or by bouncing upwardly off the ground, may be initially received through the upper rim of the head frame in the forward reception/shooting zone thereof and arrested from flight by the underlying netting suspended from the lower edge of the frame element. In the reception of a ground-borne ball it is necessary that the player crouch, bend or lean to a greater or lesser extent in order to successfully engage the nose element of the head frame of the stick with the ground and/or ball. Generally speaking, the greater the angle of crouch or bend required of a player to receive a ground-borne ball, the greater the effort and skill required to successfully receive the ball. Whatever the mode of reception, however, it is usually the case that the player, once the ball has been initially received into the forward portion of the head frame, then rolls the ball rearwardly along the netting until its motion is arrested by the ball stop. Thereafter, the ball is carried in the pocket of the netting underlying the throat of the head frame member until checked from the player's stick or intentionally passed or shot therefrom. During possession of the ball the player will often spin the stick rapidly about its longitudinal axis, thereby to impart centrifugal force to the ball and to thereby aid the player in cradling the ball within the pocket of the stick. During the player's ground maneuvering while cradling the ball in the stick it is a further desideratum of the sport that the stick shaft be held close to the player's body. However, in accordance with N.C.A.A. rules of the sport, the head frame of the stick must not be held so closely to the body as to block the opening defined by the upper rim of the head frame. In passing or shooting of the lacrosse ball, the ball is initially rolled forwardly from its pocket within the throat of the frame and leaves said netting or webbing from the forwardly located receiving/shooting zone of the head frame whereat maximum velocity tends to be generated in the passing or shooting stroke.
One problem generally found in lacrosse sticks and particularly with respect to modern lacrosse sticks comprising a molded thermoplastic head frame, resides in a lack of ability of a player to sense, by feel alone, the rotational orientation of the head. Thus, in order to assure that the head of the stick is properly rotationally oriented to receive a ball, in other words, that the upper open rim of the head frame is facing the incoming ball, it is generally necessary that the player first visually observe the head and then properly adjust the stick and its head's rotational orientation on the basis of such visual observation. This need for visual observation of the stick's head preparatory to receiving the ball at least momentarily distracts the player from observing the field of play and the ball and thus reduces his or her playing efficiency. On the other hand, if, in the player's zeal to continuously view the field of play and the ball, he or she fails to make this preliminary visual observation of the stick head and, instead, relies entirely upon tactile sensing of the rotational orientation of the head frame, the player may easily attempt to receive the ball into the bottom rim of the head frame which, of course, is closed by the netting suspended therefrom. In accordance with the present invention, this problem has been successfully addressed.